The PIP method

Pinpoint. Implement. Prosper.

One playbook for both pillars. We find the opportunity and size it in £, deliver it with your team, and bank every gain in the P&L.

You always know which phase you're in, what comes next and how it's being measured.

Book a call See the three phases
  1. PPinpointSize it
  2. IImplementDeliver it
  3. PProsperBank it
The three phases

Always in this order. Each one earns the next.

The same playbook runs across manufacturing EBITDA and finance, data & AI. Each phase has a fixed scope, clear deliverables and a finance test.

PHASE 1 · P

Pinpoint

Typically 2–4 weeks

What we do

  • Talk with the leadership team, finance and operations.
  • Pull the data: P&L, costing, ERP extracts and operational KPIs.
  • Review your cost truth: method, standards, absorption, variances.
  • Size each lever, or each finance gap, in £.
  • Agree priorities, owners and timing with you.

What you get

  • The opportunity, sized in £ by lever.
  • A cost truth assessment.
  • A costed roadmap the board signs.
  • The agreed baseline every gain is measured from.

How finance proves it

Your finance team agrees the baseline and the measurement rule for each gain before any work starts: how volume, inflation and mix are adjusted for. No rule, no gain.

PHASE 2 · I

Implement

90-day sprints

What we do

  • Work alongside your team on the levers the roadmap prioritised.
  • Build the finance data, systems, automation and AI that make it stick.
  • Review progress weekly against the roadmap.
  • Clear blockers early, and say plainly when something is off track.

What you get

  • A sprint plan with targets in £, %, and days.
  • Working tools: cost model, pricing rules, S&IOP process, forecast, KPI pack.
  • A team that has built them and can run them.

How finance proves it

Every action carries a measure and an expected £. A monthly benefits tracker is reconciled to your management accounts, so progress is in the same numbers the board already reads.

PHASE 3 · P

Prosper

From the first banked gain, through handover

What we do

  • Confirm each gain in the P&L with your finance team.
  • Lock it in with a KPI pack and a review rhythm.
  • Hand the playbook over to your team to run.
  • Come back after handover to check the gains are holding.

What you get

  • A banked benefits report, line by line.
  • A KPI pack with owners and targets.
  • Your own playbook: roadmap, cost model and KPI pack.
  • A handover plan your team signs off.

How finance proves it

A gain counts as banked when it shows in the management accounts against the baseline, adjusted by the rules agreed in Pinpoint, and your finance team signs it off. Banked, or it didn't happen.

Illustrative
Pinpoint
Implement
Sprint 1Sprint 2
Prosper
Gains banked from wk 9
Illustrative. One possible shape for a 30-week engagement, drawn to scale: a 4-week Pinpoint, two 13-week sprints, and gains banked from week 9. Your Pinpoint phase sets the real one.
Cadence

A steady rhythm keeps the plan moving.

Three reviews, each with a clear purpose. Short, regular and always ending in actions with owners.

DailyYour team

A short huddle on the few measures this sprint is moving: output, scrap, OTIF, cash, or the finance tasks in flight. Run by your people, so the habit stays when we leave.

WeeklySponsor and lever owners

The playbook review. Actions, measures and blockers against the roadmap. Anything off track gets a decision that week, not next month.

MonthlyBoard or leadership meeting

The benefits report, checked by finance and reconciled to the management accounts. What's banked, what's next, and anything we need from the board.

Fees

A fixed fee per phase. A contingent option if you want one.

You know the cost before each phase starts, and you can stop after any phase.

Standard

Fixed fee per phase

Each phase is scoped and priced up front. Pinpoint stands on its own: if you stop there, you keep the sized opportunity and the costed roadmap.

  • No day-rate meter running
  • Scope and deliverables in writing
  • Stop or continue at each phase gate
Option

Contingent fee, tied to banked gains

A lower fixed fee, plus a share of the gains that are banked. Gains are measured by your finance team using the rules agreed in Pinpoint, so nobody argues about the number later.

  • Paid on banked gains, not forecasts
  • Measurement rules agreed before work starts
  • Available for Implement and Prosper
Questions

Straight answers.

What if you can't help?

We'll say so, usually in the first call. If your need sits outside what we do well, we'll point you to someone who can help. It costs you nothing, and it's better for both of us.

Do we have to buy all three phases?

No. Each phase has its own fixed fee and its own deliverables. Many teams start with Pinpoint alone. You keep the sized opportunity and the roadmap whatever you decide next.

Who actually does the work?

Nick Garner leads every engagement personally, across both pillars. Where a piece of work needs a specialist, we bring in a trusted associate and tell you who and why before they start.

How do you prove the gains are real?

Your finance team agrees the baseline and the measurement rules in Pinpoint. Each gain is then checked against the management accounts, adjusted by those rules, and signed off by finance. If it isn't in the P&L, we don't count it.

How does the contingent fee work?

You pay a lower fixed fee, plus an agreed share of gains once they're banked and signed off by your finance team. We agree the share, the measurement rules and the time window in writing before Implement starts.

Do you run lean or shop-floor improvement programmes?

We work from the numbers to the floor: cost accounting, pricing, S&IOP and the KPIs that run each shift, alongside your operations team. Nick has rolled out shop-floor KPIs and incentives inside manufacturers. For specialist lean or engineering programmes, we bring in a trusted specialist.

How much of our team's time will it take?

Pinpoint needs a few interviews and access to data. In Implement, plan on a weekly review for the sponsor and lever owners, plus time from the people building each change. We agree this up front, so it fits around the day job.

Do we need both pillars?

No. Manufacturing EBITDA and finance, data & AI each stand alone. They share one method and meet in management information, so it's easy to add the other later if it helps.

Next step

Start with a conversation, or a scan.

A 30-minute call is enough to tell whether the PIP method fits. Or take a free assessment first and bring your results.

Book a call Take the EBITDA Opportunity Scan Take the Finance Partner Check